"The Lost Island" (Grand Central Publishing), by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

"The Lost Island," the third novel to feature master thief and brilliant scientist Gideon Crew, is another clever and compelling tale from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

Gideon has a rare condition that will kill him within a year unless he finds a cure. He works for Eli Glinn, a mysterious man with unlimited wealth, who asks Gideon to steal one page from the priceless Book of Kells, an Irish tome on display at a New York library. The security system is beyond impenetrable, and it becomes the ultimate challenge for Gideon to obtain the one page.

Through deceit, trickery and sleight of hand, Gideon successfully grabs the page, and what is discovered on the parchment is a strange map that promises treasure and a possible cure. He reluctantly teams up with Amy, one of Eli's assistants, and together they embark on a journey across the Caribbean, following a map with cryptic symbols and descriptions. What they discover will shatter every belief they had about the history of North America and probably will kill both of them before they can discover where the treasure and cure are hidden.

Advertisement

Readers might be divided since regular series character Aloysius Pendergast is nowhere to be found in "The Lost Island." But the stellar writing that readers expect from Preston and Child is still in abundance, and they balance the line between page-turning suspense and ancient history. And when it gets a bit fantastical, they make it believable and completely plausible.

Welcome to your
discussion forum: Verified accounts are now required for
immediate posting. Please verify your e-mail address in
Disqus, or sign in with your social networking account. You may also post using
your e-mail address (which will remain private), but those posts will
first need to be approved by the moderator. Comments made here are
the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do
not reflect the opinion or approval of the Bennington Banner.
This forum encourages open, honest, respectful and insightful
discussions; there is no need to be offensive. Read
our guidelines.